Unfortunately, Lake Mead and Lake Tahoe boating accidents are fairly common and can result in serious injury.

Have you been involved in a boating injury?  Sometimes the effects of the injury can occur years after the fact. Regardless of when you were involved in a boating accident, if you feel as though you’ve suffered, let us help with a free consultation.

Boating is, of course, supposed to be pleasurable. However, sometimes accidents happen. Boats may collide, or alcohol can be a factor. Whether you own the boat that was hit or you’re the one accused of a crime on the water, we’ll represent your case in a strong, confident manner.

As a general rule, to be able to recover damages, if you get injured on any type of boat, it must be proven that your injury resulted from someone’s negligence. Negligence is defined as “the failure to act with reasonable care.” Most boating accidents are caused when: one boat hits another boat, a boat hits another boat’s wake, or a boat hits a wave, rock, land, or another object. In a collision between two motorboats, both boats’ operators will usually be partially at fault. In a collision between a sailboat and a motorboat, the motorboat is more likely to be at fault than the sailboat because safe boating practices, often called “The Rules of the Road,” require motorboats to keep out of the way of sailboats.

When a boat hits a big wake or wave, the jolt to the boat can knock the passengers down or throw them out of their seat or overboard. Legal liability for a wake accident is not always clear. The operator’s liability in a wake accident will generally depend on the circumstances, such as the boat’s speed, the size of the wake, visibility and boat traffic at the time of the accident, and whether the operator warned the passengers that the boat was approaching a big wake. A wave accident is similar to a wake accident except that there is no other boat to hold liable.

Even when the weather is good, a boat can hit a rock or other object in the water. A boater’s liability for a collision with a fixed object will depend on how prepared and cautious the boater was in the situation.

Federal law and Nevada state boating safety laws and regulations require all boats to have various kinds of safety equipment on board. While failure to have the proper safety equipment on board will probably not cause an accident, it can affect the ability of rescue workers to assist. Just like a car accident, if it’s found that the other boater acted negligently, your damages may include the reasonable value of your medical bills, your lost earnings, and pain and suffering. Even so, if the other boater didn’t carry boaters’ insurance and has no assets, he or she may not be able to pay you damages. Motor vehicle insurance does not cover injuries on boats, however, homeowner’s insurance might provide some insurance coverage for these injuries.

We also represent individuals who have legal issues with the U.S. Food and Wildlife Service.

If you’ve been involved in a boating accident, put Moss Berg to work for your benefit.